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New Credit Cards Worth Considering

We’re having a great summer and life is crazy right now so writing hasn’t been as consistent as I’ve hoped, but I did want to point out a couple of great credit card offers from Chase that have returned which are definitely worth considering.

The first is a 50,000 United miles bonus after spending $2,000 in 3 moths. This is as high as I remember this sign up bonus being for a few years so if you’re in need of United miles, it’s definitely worth a look. Other card perks outside of the sign up bonus include one free checked back on United flights, more award availability than Mileage Plus members who do not have the card, and two United Club passes each year you have the card. The annual fee is $95 but is waived for the first year of card membership.

As a reminder, a roundtrip ticket in coach anywhere in the continental US is 25,000 miles so this card could get you two roundtrip tickets. A roundtrip ticket to the Caribbean or Hawaii in coach is 35,000 so this sign up bonus could get you one roundtrip and one one-way. We’ve leveraged this same card bonus in the past for flights to both Hawaii and St. John. If both members of a couple get the card, a family of four could get 4 roundtrip tickets within the continental US. Keep in mind that in order to snag tickets during holidays or school vacations, you must plan well in advance so if you’re looking to travel during one of those timeframes in the coming year or so, Southwest Rapid Rewards would serve you best there (and hold out for the 50,000 bonus on that card).

The other card that has returned (or maybe never went away?) is the Chase Ritz Carlton card. This card comes with 140,000 Ritz Carlton (or Marriott) Rewards after spending $2,000 in 3 months. This is a HUGE bonus and the biggest I’ve ever seen for any sort of miles or points currency. In fact, I signed up for this exact offer about a year ago.

The downside to the card is that it comes with an annual fee of $395. However, you get a $300 airline incidental credit which offsets all but $95 of that fee. There are a lot of ways to creatively use that $300 towards travel so feel free to ask if you’d like to know how we’ve used ours successfully. You also get complimentary gold status with Marriott and Ritz Carlton which is better than a hole in the head, but in practice, doesn’t get you as much as mid-tier status with other hotel programs.

Another downside is that you have to apply on the phone versus online but the process is short and painless. To apply, you have to call 1-888-846-7004 and mention code F5BP. Lastly, lots of people love the fact that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is made of metal. Just having that card makes you feel important… However, the Ritz Carlton card is even heavier and it “clinks” when you plop it down on the counter… That doesn’t make a difference to me, but to others it might!

I mentioned here a few great uses of 140,000 Ritz or Marriott Rewards, but if you combine these 140,000 Rewards with Rewards acquired through the Chase Marriott card, you’ve taken yourself to a whole new level of a vacation. We just might pursue that combo and enjoy some time at a Ritz Carlton instead of a Marriott… Or you can choose the practical route and stay at a less nice property and spread your Rewards out over several trips. Both sounds like great options to me!

As always, if you have any questions with regards to these cards or if you have questions on how to use the points or miles mentioned here or elsewhere, please feel free to contact me!

**Please note that none of the cards mentioned in this post offer me any commission. I just think that they are a great way to accumulate points and miles for vacations that would be otherwise unaffordable.